Objective Proficiency p 24. Animal Idioms. Extra Gapped Sentences

Think of ONE word only that can be used appropriately in all three sentences of each exercise.
1.
a. She's as busy as a __________, always going to meetings and organizing parties.
b. Our teacher has a ___________ in his bonnet about punctuation. 
c. I know Phil is quite good-looking, but I wish he wouldn't admire himself in the mirror so much. He obviously thinks he's the ______'s knees. 
2.
a. I always thought Amy was pretentious, and now she's going out with that snobbish boy, Louis. ___________ of a feather flock together. 
b. Do you remember the first time your parents told you about the _______ and the bees?
c. Gambling, games of chance - that sort of thing is strictly for the __________.
3.
a. We were planning a surprise party for Margaret, but she walked in on our discussion, so of course that rather let the _____ out of the bag.
b. But you can't possibly live and work in this tiny flat. There isn't enough room to swing a _____.
c. Then she told them she was dropping out of college. That really set the ______ among the pigeons.
4.
a. Uncle Stan is a real _______ in the manger with his weekend house. He doesn't use it himself any more, but he never offers it to other members of the family. 
b. He's made a real ____________'s breakfast of these accounts.
c.  My father refuses to use a computer to do his accounts. He says you can't teach an old ______ new tricks.
5.
a. He isn't very demonstrative. His mother was a cold __________ so he probably gets it from her.
b. Stuart and Nigel wanted me to join them for a drink, but as I had an appointment with my bank manager about a loan, I told them that I had other ______ to fry.
c. Laura was unhappy that Andrew had gone off with another girl. I told her to cheer up, that there were plenty more ______ in the sea.

KEY

1. bee
be as busy as a bee (also be a busy bee) to be very busy or very active. E.g. they've been as busy as bees, getting the dinner ready. You have been a busy little bee, haven't you? Jenny's a real busy bee today. She's been rushing around all morning.

have a bee in your bonnet (about something) (informal) to think or talk about something all the time and to think that it is very important. E.g. Sarah has a bee in her bonnet about only eating health foods. Wherever she's invited, she takes her own things to eat. She's got a real bee in her bonnet about people keeping their dogs under control. Martin has a bee in his bonnet about recycling.


the bee's knees (informal) an excellent person or thing. E.g. She thinks she's the bee's knees (= she has a very high opinion of herself). Have you tried this ice cream? It's the bee's knees, it really is.

Watch this BBC video about these three idioms. 



2. birds
birds of a feather (flock together) (saying) people of the same sort (are found together). People who have similar characters or similar interests will often choose to spend time together. E.g. At the party, all the teenagers gathered in the kitchen. Birds of a feather flock together.  George: Why do you think Donald is dishonest? Ned: All his friends are dishonest. Birds of a feather flock together. I saw the boy who stole my bag with that gang of trouble makers last night - well, birds of a feather flock together, they say.

the birds and the bees (humorous) the basic facts about sex, especially as told to children. E.g. Mary
told me that when she told her son and daughter about the birds and the bees, she told them all about contraceptives, and she offered to buy condoms for both kids if they felt embarrassed to purchase them for themselves!
The euphemistic avoidance technique, which may call on references to eggs or the mysterious 'pollination', is of course just confusing to children. This was satirised in this episode of The Simpsons.

be (strictly) for the birds (informal) to not be important or practical. If you think something is for the birds, you think it is stupid and has no use. To have no use, purpose, or importance. E.g.
That movie was horrible, strictly for the birds.  It was a beautiful wedding, but the food was for the birds (of poor quality). We may have produced a society that is strictly for the birds! This lousy pair of shoes is strictly for the birds (worthless)

Watch this BBC video about more idioms with bird. 



3. cat
let the cat out of the bag to tell a secret carelessly or by mistake. E.g. I wanted it to be a surprise, but my sister let the cat out of the bag. 

no room to swing a cat (informal) when somebody says there's no room to swing a cat, they mean that a room is very small and that there is not enough space. E.g. There isn't room to swing a cat in the third room, it's so tiny. Get a sofa in the living room? You'll be lucky - there isn't room to swing a cat in there.

put/set the cat among the pigeons (British English) to say or do something that is likely to cause trouble to makes a lot of people very angry. E.g. We had worked out a precise schedule for the work. Then Bill put the cat among the pigeons by saying he might take that week off. Tell them all they've got to work on Saturday. That should set the cat among the pigeons.



Watch this BBC video about these three idioms.



4. dog
 a dog in the manger someone who does not want or need something, but will not let other people have it. E.g. Stop being such a dog in the manger and let your sister ride your bike if you're not using it.

a dog's breakfast/dinner (British English, informal) a thing that has been done badly. E.g.  She tried to cut her hair and made a real dog's breakfast of it. You should have seen the ceiling after he'd finished painting it. It was a complete dog's breakfast.
 
(you can't) teach an old dog new tricks (saying) (you cannot) successfully make people change their ideas, methods of work, etc, when they have had them for a long time. Something that you say which means it is difficult to make someone change the way they do something when they have been doing it the same way for a long time. You're never going to teach your father at the age of 79 to use a computer. You can't teach an old dog new tricks, you know.

Watch this BBC video about more idioms with dog.  



5. fish
a cold fish a person who seems unfriendly and without strong emotions. Distant. E.g. Bob is so dull—a real cold fish. She hardly ever speaks to anyone. She's a cold fish. Harold said nothing at all when I told him about Sally's misfortune. He's a real cold fish.

have bigger/other fish to fry to have more important or more interesting things to do. E.g.  I can't take time for your problem. I have other fish to fry. I won't waste time on your question. I have bigger fish to fry. I couldn't waste my time trying to reach an agreement with them, I had other fish to fry.  I couldn't spend a lot of time on the problem – I had other fish to fry.

there are plenty more fish in the sea there are many other people or things that are as good as the one somebody has failed to get. E.g. Don't cry over Pierre - there are plenty more fish in the sea!


Watch this BBC video about more idioms with fish.